KANNUR: The intention was simple and clear. But, the message was loud. The times were disastrous and people in distress had been looking around for help. Distress Management Collective India (DMCI) came into being during the flood of 2018 when Kerala was left battered in one of the worst monsoon furies in the history of the state.
Their cries for help were well heard around the globe and people from various walks of life had extended their support to the organization to rebuild the lives of thousands of people who were affected by nature's wrath. "That was so encouraging. It was heartening to see there are so many people in this society willing to offer their help for the suffering humanity," said P Manoj Kumar, state coordinator of DMCI.
Now, after two years of its formation, DMCI has been making its presence felt through their flagship venture "Mother's Meal". The programme has been providing food kits to the families of 1400 palliative patients for the last six months.
The programme, that has been well recognized, would be awarded Dr SV Satheesh Kumar memorial award instituted by KGMOA for the excellent interventions in the health sector. The award of Rs. 10,000/- would be presented in a function on January 24.
"People had been looking everywhere to get help to redesign their battered lives during the flood of 2018. It was at that juncture that, DMCI was formed with Retd Supreme court Justice Kurian Joseph as its head," said Manoj Kumar.
"Though we have been intervening consistently in the charity sector, the COVID outbreak had really made the presence of organisations like DMCI all the more important as thousands of lives were affected due to fall in earnings, loss of jobs and the crumbling economy," said Manoj who works in Delhi as Additional Director General, Income Tax.
"The economic crisis in India was unprecedented. Several people were thrown out of employment. To add to this, a number of them are reeling under starvation. It's at this juncture that Distress Management Collective India (DMCI) initiated the program "Mother's Meal"- Family to Family Support. The concept was to help the ten percent of people in the society who are hungry, by inspiring the 50% of the population, who are in a position to help them, while the 40% may be just managing on what they earn," explains Manoj.
The programme, being implemented with the support of Bengaluru-based Hope Society and Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC) Kerala chapter, has identified 1400 terminally-ill palliative care families in the state, and started giving food kits for the entire family for six months. The programme was inaugurated in October by Revenue Minister E Chandra Sekharan.
"Mother's Meal has become the best example of teamwork as it has proved that through efficient coordination and unification of efforts and unity of action in the pursuit of common goals, any mission can be achieved successfully," said Manoj.
"Though the Mother's Meal project would end by March, we would like to continue with similar programmes to help the needy people around us. This is being made possible only with the support of so many kind-hearted people around the world as DMCI doesn't have any fund on its own, Manoj said.
The Distress Management Collective India (DMCI) is a registered Public Charitable Trust as a collective of individuals from various fields across the world who have expertise in various sectors have come forward to work for the betterment of the society.
Though DMCI has no funding source of its own, it has the capacity to address distress through its solid network of individuals and organizations. They have nominated coordinators in all 14 districts in the Kerala, Delhi and other places.
Apart from the Mother's Meal programme, DMCI has also been actively involved in the fight against the deadly coronavirus in the state through a number of social interventions.
"We would like to continue with our services to society as long as possible. It is really heartening to see that, when you are committed and sincere in your approach, you will be strengthened by so many kind-hearted people ready to support the cause," Manoj said